Destiny
by Gracie A
Summary: Short Story - Complete. My "Gift" to Rali fans - Alison tells Rafe the truth and they move on. :) Pls. R&R. Thank you!


A/N - OK. No offense to anyone who finds the current PC "pairing" intriguing - I, obviously ;) do not and I am also, sadly, already quite sure that this whole thing will end badly for Rali in some way, shape or form. Sorry but - I JUST WON'T HAVE IT!!! lol!  
  
Lately, with how PC is written, my philosophy has become - if I have to write it myself - so be it. This'll be a short one - but for what it's worth - this is the way I want it to see all of this play out. I hope (and suspect) - at least some will agree! Thanks so much for reading. :-) - xox G  
  
Destiny  
  
He didn't understand. He brought her here to start their future by reliving the past, but her reaction to being here puzzled him. Something was terribly wrong.  
  
She had tried to tell him before. She tried to ignore it and just move on. But since he came back to her, she couldn't bear to look at him without her heart breaking - knowing what she had done. It scared her to death to think he might walk away from her once he knew the truth, that every dream she ever had for them would be dead and gone, but with this between them they could never truly move forward.  
  
"Rafe." Alison began  
  
"Angel? What is it?" he said, wiping away her tears, holding her face in his hands.  
  
"Oh God. Don't call me that. Please - not here. Please!" she pleaded.  
  
"Alison. What happened? What's wrong? Just tell me." Rafe held her hands tightly in his. "You can tell me anything."  
  
She looked into his eyes and spoke softly "Promise me you mean that."  
  
"I promise." He vowed, gently bringing her hands to his lips.  
  
"OK." She said, hoping, praying it would be true. "OK."  
  
Alison took a deep breath - feeling as if she was about to jump off a cliff, not sure if she would survive the fall. She began to speak.  
  
"When you were gone, I was beside myself. I knew that the words you used to get where you were belonged to Caleb so I went there and asked him, I begged him to help me bring you home but he refused."  
  
Her eyes met his again. "It was a horrible mistake - I know - but I honestly couldn't think of what else to do."  
  
"I'm sorry." Rafe said, feeling so incredibly guilty for leaving her in the first place.  
  
"Don't - please. I need to finish this." Alison turned away. She couldn't face him with this next. She hugged her arms around herself and continued.  
  
"I tried to feel close to you - but you were so far away, nothing worked. I came here and I used the same words to try and get to you."  
  
She took another deep breath before she promised, "I never left this barn - but you have to know - I was in hell myself."  
  
She plodded on - grasping each ounce of courage she possessed, so scared that she'd not make it to the end. "Caleb came here and I begged him again. He still refused to help me. He told me we were getting what we deserved for daring to take what was his. I saw that he had his ring - so I grabbed his hand and wished for you to come home to me. Nothing happened - because the plan worked. Livvie stole the ring from him."  
  
Alison began to cry harder. Trying to let her say what she seemed to need to so desperately, Rafe looked on - helpless to console her.  
  
"I was sure it was over then. I was sure I had lost you forever. I was trying to even comprehend what that would mean when he told me - he felt something - he said that you were back."  
  
Her stomach began to turn. "and I was leaving Rafe - I was almost out the door and on my way to you when."  
  
Rafe couldn't bear it - he needed to interrupt her, "I promise. I'll never leave you again."  
  
He reached for her and she cringed and pulled away.  
  
"You can't say that, Rafe." She said through her tears. "You can't say that because you don't know what happened."  
  
"I will never leave you, Alison. No matter what happens." He promised as he turned her to face him.  
  
Her words came out in a flood - she didn't dare take a breath, knowing it might keep her from finally telling him everything. "I don't know what it was - but I just couldn't leave. No matter how much I wanted to - I couldn't. Before I knew what was happening I was in his arms and, we - I - Oh God. I was with him Rafe. I was with him - here - in our place. I don't know how it happened. Rafe - I let him. I let him touch me. I couldn't stop him and it was almost like I didn't want to."  
  
The images her words placed in his mind left Rafe stunned and shattered his heart.  
  
"Please tell me that's not true." He said softly.  
  
Alison shook with sobs "I wish I could - I wish I could but I can't. It's true. I spent the night here - with him."  
  
When she realized he wouldn't speak she kept talking, "And when you came back - y-y-y you believed that I was faithful to our dream and I know - I know for a fact that if I tried I couldn't have betrayed it more."  
  
"I need you to tell me one thing." Rafe said quietly, grief filling his voice. "Did you stay here because you wanted him?"  
  
Her eyes grew wide as she looked into his.  
  
"NO. Oh God. No. It was like I was in a trance, like I was possessed. Livvie made a wish and somehow it went terribly wrong. I was caught up in something that I couldn't escape. It was like my body was there - but my heart - Rafe - my heart and my mind - they were screaming for you. But I couldn't leave. I - I just." Alison looked into his eyes and pledged, "I promise you - I promise you - I never wanted this."  
  
More than anything at that moment she wanted him to hold her - but wasn't sure he would.  
  
Rafe said softly, shaking his head "He was right."  
  
Alison looked at him, completely confused.  
  
"He was right." He continued, "When I was there - the voice - he told me that my leaving you would change our lives forever. He told me I would regret coming there on this insane quest to get the ring. He said I would have to live with the consequences for all eternity."  
  
"Rafe." It wasn't his fault - she would not let him think it was.  
  
Rafe walked to her and took her hands in his again. "No. I did this. It's my fault. I went someplace I never should have been. I opened the gates of hell and - true to form - they knew exactly how to get to me. The easiest way - the best way to hurt me is to hurt you and I let them do it. I let them do exactly what they promised."  
  
Alison couldn't believe what he was saying. She was sure this would be the one thing they couldn't bear. She was sure that this would be what would destroy them. But here he was - still standing with her, after all she'd done - after all she'd said.  
  
"I know that you want to try and make this better but Rafe - please. I won't blame you. I won't. You should just go. You should leave before I can hurt you again." She would not let him take the blame for what she had done.  
  
He took her face in his hands and held her still. Searching her eyes, seeing into her soul he vowed, "I'm not going anywhere. The only thing that you could say right now to make me leave is that you'd let them win."  
  
"What?" She didn't understand.  
  
"How much more are you going to let them take - Alison? How much more?" He asked.  
  
"I don't know what you mean."  
  
Rafe began to explain. "I bargained with them to be with you. I sold my soul and lost every memory I had of you. You never gave up. You saved me and brought us back together - where we belonged. They took away our wedding day, they tried to make you destroy me and still we ended up here. Together."  
  
To her great disbelief, Rafe suddenly pulled her into his arms and held her tight. "Nothing we've done to hurt each other - NOTHING - has anything to do with us wanting or needing someone else. Together, Alison - they can't touch us. It's only when we are apart that they even have a chance. Please tell me - you won't let them win."  
  
"Rafe." She wanted to believe it - she wanted to with all her heart. She wanted to believe that it was true. That he wouldn't leave her, that they were still going to be together, that their dream was not just a memory.  
  
He spoke to her again, needing to hear the words. "Alison, tell me."  
  
"I won't." Her voice was strong, her sobs quieting more and more each second as she looked in his eyes. "No. I won't."  
  
"I never doubted that you would." Rafe was smiling as he pressed his lips to hers.  
  
As she kissed him, as he kissed her, the passion they shared made her know that somehow, it would all be OK. As she tasted the sweetness of his kisses she knew that her memories of this current nightmare would be gone forever, because there was nothing that could compare to how she felt when she was safe in his arms - nothing ever could.  
  
As his hands roamed every inch of her skin she welcomed his touch, all her senses, her mind, body and soul in complete agreement that this was exactly what she wanted, this was exactly what she needed - for all eternity. When they sank down together onto the hay strewn floor the response he elicited from her wherever he touched reassured her that she was truly where she belonged, with him and with no one else. When their bodies joined, she finally felt complete again, the emptiness she'd felt only moments before completely erased forever.  
  
This truly was their destiny. Together they were untouchable. This last test just made them all the more certain that no one could steal what they shared - no matter what - no matter how hard they tried. Nothing, not Livvie, not Joshua, not Caleb nor all the souls trapped in hell - nothing was strong enough to ever truly tear them apart.  
  
Nothing ever would be. 


End file.
